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Hawks football shut out by strong Eureka squad

CHUCK BANDEL | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 9 months AGO
by CHUCK BANDEL
Valley Press | October 4, 2023 12:00 AM

A big second quarter made the difference for the unbeaten Eureka Lions as they turned back visiting Thompson Falls 40-0 in a Western B 11-player football game Friday night.

The Lions ran their season record to 6-0 with the win, drawing first blood with a 29 yard pass from quarterback Tristan Butts to wide out AJ Truman. The point after touchdown (PAT) kick was good, giving Eureka a 7-0 first quarter lead.

The Blue Hawks defense held the rest of the opening quarter, but the floodgates opened in quarter number two when the host team erupted for 26 unanswered points.

Eureka began the second quarter with a four-yard touchdown run by Caden Pecora, the PAT was good and the Lions lead increased to 14-0. A short time later, as the Lions’ defense clamped down on T Falls, Butts teamed with Truman on another touchdown throw, this one from 45 yards out. The kick was good, giving Eureka a 21-0 advantage midway through the quarter.

Truman was in on his third TD of the game soon thereafter when he plunged across the goal line on a one-yard touchdown run. This time the kick was no good, but the Lions had increased their lead to 27-0. Truman then tossed a 13-yard scoring pass to Josh Lambertsen, increasing the Lions’ lead to 33-0 when the PAT kick failed. That score remained unchanged for the rest of the first half.

In the third quarter, Butts and Truman teamed up for their third catch and score play of the game, when the duo connected for six points from 23 yards out. The PAT kick was good, giving the Lions a 40-0 lead, which held up the rest of the game as both defenses turned in shutouts during the fourth quarter.

T Falls had 159 total yards of offense for the game, with 118 of those yards coming via the passing of junior quarterback Bryson LeCoure, who was 14 for 24 with a pair of interceptions.

LeCoure was also the top rusher for the Blue Hawks, scratching out 16 yards on 12 carries. Kaiden Robins had six carries for 15 yards for T Falls as the Lions’ stingy defense contained the Blue Hawks running game.

T Falls senior wide tight end Max Hannum led the team with 85 receiving yards via seven receptions, while Nick Tessier had 29 yards on three catches.

LeCoure also had a solid game on defense, assisting on four tackles while picking off a Lions pass.

The loss dropped T Falls to 2-4 on the year and 1-1 in conference play after they pummeled Troy in their conference opener last week.

Next up for the Blue Hawks is a conference game this Friday in Missoula against Loyola.

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